I will learn to speak your language

So the scavenger hunt was fun, though a little out of my comfort zone. I hadn't realized that it was with a group called Seoul Sisters (Seoul is the capital of South Korea), which is a lesbian group that gets together about once a month or so. We were assigned to teams, so I wasn't with the two people that I came with, and we had to go to 6 different bars around Hyundai and take pictures of certain things in each bar, get someone's number, and ask about something at each bar (for example: a picture of you and a member of the bar staff in a reflection in a mirrored mural, and ask who painted the mural). At each bar we were supposed to buy a drink each to get a stamp on our paper, so we could get the clue for the next bar we were supposed to go to. I ended up ordering cokes, and about halfway through, realized I didn't have to order anything- as long as one of the other girls on my team ordered something they would give us the stamp. So I was 'forced' to wander around Hyundai, which is full of interesting places (there's an 80's bar there that I want to go in next time), and spend about 2 hours with three other people that I'd never met. It was fun for the most part, but asking strange Korean women for their phone number when I had no intention of ever using it was a little awkward.

What I also hadn't realized when we went out is that the metro stops running around 12am or so. Hyundai is about an hour and a half on the metro from Uijeongbu, and about 30 minutes by cab (though 20 times more expensive). So once we were done with the scavenger hunt, we had to stay out until the metro started again - at 5:30am. If I'd known that, I probably would have stayed in bed longer yesterday morning. So we stayed at the first bar until about 4am, where I hung out with some of the other teams and met some other people. But Cherita and I were hungry and tired, so around 4:30 we went to a 24hour KFC and grabbed something to eat, and then Cherita paid for the 30,000 won to get home (about $30). At first the cab driver wanted to charge us 30,000 plus the meter. He said it was because we were leaving Seoul, but we both knew it was the "foreigner tax". But Cherita can speak basic Korean, and managed to tell the guy that she's never paid more than 35,000 to get home, and it was either 30,000 or the meter, not both. Our total at 5:30 am when we left the cab was just under 30,000. 

And then I had my first Korean lesson this morning around 10:30. I had put an ad on Craig's list for a language exchange (I teach you english, you teach me korean, no money involved), and got a reply back from someone. Turns out they were Cherita's teacher that she has lessons with every Sunday morning. So I went to her house this morning where Yong-tae Kim (he's 28 and just got married) worked with me on the basic consanants and vowels, and worked with Cherita on dialogue. So now I'm going to make some flash cards to practice, and maybe soon I'll be able to at least pronounce all the signs I see. 

Seoul Searching

James and Cherita were going out of town this weekend (they took a guided tour in North Korea), so I thought I would do a little bit of exploring on my own. I took the bus near my place to the subway, and then rode the metro for about an hour until I got to Seoul. I knew that the first English guided tour started at 11:30. I got there about 10:30, so I bought a ticket, and grabbed a bagel and coffee a few blocks away at a Dunkin Donuts (it was the only place with a menu I recognized). On my way back to the palace, I saw this sign:

I didn't go, but I will. How can you not visit a museum with a sign like that??

Then I went to the Changdeokgung, or Changdeok Palace (official site here). It was absolutely beautiful. The tour guide spoke English, but with a very think accent so it was very difficult to understand her. You can't enter the palace unless you take a guided tour Friday through Wednesday, which costs 3,000 won. The self guided tour is available on Thursdays, for 15,000 won. 

This is the entrance gate to the palace, called Donhwamun Gate. It was first built in 1412 and was restored in 1609. It's the oldest remaining palace gate in Korea. Donhwa means to "teach and influence the people". 

Injeongjeon Hall was used for official ceremones and was built in 1405. You can tell it's the most important building because it has the most clay figures pearcher on the edges of its roof of any building in the complex; there are 9 figures total.

This is the gate to the Secret Garden:

It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I'd love to go back on a Thursday and just sit in the garden and enjoy the tranquility.

This is the Buyongji area. It's a pond created on the traditional perception of the universe (that heaven is round and earth is rectangular). the recangular pond refers to the earth, and the round island in the middle symbolizes heaven. 

And this is the Aeryeonji Area. Aeryeon means "loving the lotus" which symbolizes the virtue of a gentleman. There are lotus flowers in the pond, but most of them aren't blooming right now. 

After I left the palace, I wandered down Insadong, which is a giant shopping street. There were some very interesting characters there. I don't know who the top one is, the bottom one is Dalki, similar to Strawberry Shortcake.

After Insadong, I stopped at Yongsan. You know how in department stores there's the little sections for all the different brands of makeup? Imagine the same thing on a scale about 10 times larger, and with electronics instead of health and beauty. And on 7 floors. This was about 1/10th of Yongsan. It took me forever to find somewhere to eat, because it had to have a menu outside with pictures that I could point to when  I ordered, since I can't read hangul yet. I managed to find a place, finally, and got some sort of dumplings that I couldn't finish because there was so much of it. And then I headed home.